76 INTELLECTUAL AxND IMITATIVE 



out of the room in a storm of rage, much too loud 

 to admit of the voice of reason being heard. The 

 Parrot, delighted with his new caught up words, 

 did nothing for some days but shout out, at the 



top of his most unmusical voice, " Mrs ! 



Mrs drinks like a fish." Meanwhile, Mrs 



's lawyers having once taken up the scent, 



succeeded in ferretting out some information, that 

 ultimately produced written proofs, furnished by 

 some secret enemy, that the lady's imprudence in 

 the propagation of this scandal had not been con- 

 fined to the instance we have mentioned. An 

 action at law was raised for defamation. The 

 Parrot was arrested and carried into court, to give 

 oral testimony of the malignity of the plot which 

 was supposed to have been laid against Mrs 



's good fame ; and he was by no means 



niggardly of his testimony, for, to the great amuse- 

 ment of the bench, the bar, and all present, he was 

 no sooner produced, than he began, and continued 



loudly to vociferate, " Mrs 1 Mrs 



drinks like a fish!" till judges and jury were alike 

 satisfied of the merits of the case ; and the result 

 was, that the poor owner of the Parrot was cast 

 with immense damages. 



Another incident, somewhat less serious in its 

 consequences, but yet extremely mortifying, oc- 

 curred to the family of a worthy citizen, who, by 

 a laudable attention to business, had accumu- 

 lated so considerable a fortune, as to enable 

 him to purchase a very nice villa,' not an hundred 



